Singer James Arthur has apologised on live TV after making homophobic and abusive comments on Twitter.

Last year's X Factor winner was on the show on Sunday performing his latest single, Recovery from his upcoming album.

After his performance James took the opportunity to apologise for the comments and admitted to host Dermot O’Leary that he has made some "silly mistakes" and that he is "sorry for abusing my position as an X Factor winner".

The backlash from the comments resulted in some fans demanding a refund on his album which they had pre-ordered on iTunes.

A petition was also put together to have the 25-year-old singer dropped from his X Factor performance.